Alcaraz survives Ruusuvuori scare in Madrid opener

Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz has fought back from a set down to beat 41st-ranked Emil Ruusuvuori 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 and avoid an upset in his first match of the Madrid Open

Carlos Alcaraz clenched both fists and roared “Vamos! Vamos! Vamos!” at the packed stands of the Madrid Open.

His war cry of “Let’s go!” in Spanish draws motivation for Alcaraz when he faces difficulty, and revs up his fans. This time it worked.

The defending champion survived a tougher-than-expected test by 41st-ranked Emil Ruusuvuori in his opening match on Friday.

Alcaraz was on the brink of an early upset before he dug down for a 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory over his Finnish opponent.

The Spanish teenager, who turns 20 next week, saved five break points in what turned out to be a critical game to remain level at 3-3 in the second set. In the next game, Alcaraz secured his first break to turn the second-round match in his favor.

Alcaraz jokingly apologized to the partisan crowd for the close call.

“It wasn’t just a scare for them, it was (a scare) for me, too,” Alcaraz said. “I am just happy I could get this very difficult win. . . . Maybe people think that I should win easily or not get into trouble in matches, but each match is its own world. It was a very hard match. You just have to stay humble and accept the bad moments as they come and try to turn it around.”